


We Were Friends-Y'know?

by Boysharkwonder



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Animal Death, Best Friends, Canon Rewrite, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Developing Friendships, Dialect, Falling In Love, Female Friendship, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, I REALLY LIKE FRIENDSHIP STORIES OK, M/M, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Modern AU, Ninjas are still a thing, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Third Person Limited, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Romance, Protective Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Romantic Friendship, Tags Contain Spoilers, Unrequited Love, You'll have to read it IG
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 20:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19857205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boysharkwonder/pseuds/Boysharkwonder
Summary: I thought I'd re-write Naruto "as if I had wrote it in the first place." A story about the bittersweet experience of friendships and falling in love. I probably won't cover everything the anime/manga covers and some parts may be condensed/changed but I'm planning on doing a lot. Updates will be slow, I'm writing it somewhat out of order so I won't get bored. I'll be on chapter 6 with a chapter 80 hiding somewhere on my messy desktop. At least there'll most likely be spin-offs to look forward to.I've got lots of action and dialog planned to keep things moving at a decent pace but if you'd rather just have your quick fill of fluff... as valid as that may be, I'm not the writer for you. I'm tearing things down and building them from the ground up. That takes time.Yes it's NaruSasu.Yes it will set that up chapter one.Yes I will tease at other ships such as NaruHina, NaruSasu is end game.Yes it's modern.Yes ninja are still a thing.Yes I'm going to be down-scaling the final battles because I, as a writer, don't do Kaiju battles. No Gojira's here.I know some of my takes will be unpopular as heck. I'm writing this for me, mostly.





	We Were Friends-Y'know?

**Author's Note:**

> This is your last warning: this is a “modern-ninja AU.” I'm doing both at once. You’ll understand it more as you read. 
> 
> It’s in 3rd person but the focus will shift around a bit. I’m starting with Sasuke cause if I don’t, a lot of other stuff won’t click. 
> 
> Naruto has a heavy dialect. This is my interpretation of his dialect in the Japanese dub. I don't often type "dattebayo." It's just not me. That's where the title comes in. "Y'know?" is what "ttebayo?" translates to. 
> 
> Chapter 2 is already done I'm just going over it cause I decided last minute that I hate it. To save chapter 1 that same fate I'm going ahead with it. Meanwhile I have some random Sakura chapter near completed and am waiting patiently for the rest of me to catch up. Go figure. 
> 
> Okay I'm done explaining. Roll fic.

“Wha’dya think it is?” the blonde whisper-shouted, top of his head squared up uncomfortably to the other’s. 

  
That other, a pale kid named Sasuke, pulled away. _God, who taught that kid personal space?_ He thought with a sharp frown. He wouldn’t have the chance to ask. With a pound, their heads returned forcefully as they were. Sasuke clenched his teeth.

  
“I think you’re an idiot,” he grumbled, but he didn’t carry on, enough people had said it better, “it’s a baby bird. They don't have feathers when they're that little. It looks like its nest was swept down and its mother probably abandoned it. You would have an idea if you paid attention in class, Naruto.”

  
And if she hadn’t abandoned her baby before, she would have then with the two of them nosing around. The bird would surely die in a matter of days. It’s eyes were already closed, breathing already feint. Sasuke tried to shake the thought away. There wasn’t anything either of them could do...

  
...

  
“I’m gonna poke it,” the boy named Naruto injected, “see if it chirps.”

“ _No!_ ” Sasuke hissed, flinging the wild-child as far as he could, “You’ll make it worse!” 

He wasn't sure why he was lashing out so suddenly. He had tried a long time to detach from such feelings. Especially towards a bird as close to death as that. They say that everyone's born hard-coded with empathy. If that _**were**_ true, maybe that's why Sasuke did it. How could one ignore such a primitive drive? Meanwhile, Naruto's tight-knit brows and fire red cheeks let it be known he hadn't a clue. _Classic Naruto._

  
“What was that for!?” he growled.   


“Do you want it to die?!” Sasuke launched himself between Naruto and the chick.

  
He was expecting a fight. Sasuke was prone to trouble. He was expecting the kid to zip in behind him and crush the thing's skull in his hands. He didn't know why. All he understood was that wicked people walked among him. That anybody could be _wicked_.

Instead, there was silence. It threw Sasuke off guard. He must have been making some sort of expression. He wouldn’t be surprised. Old wounds set him off, made him jumpy around the other boys loud kind of play. Many of them avoided Sasuke. The ones that didn't treated him as a threat to their non-existent masculinity. As if he **_wanted_** to fight them. He thought the blonde might be among the first camp…… He thought… but realized he was wrong. Those blue bug-eyes were looking—not at Sasuke—but down. _What was he afraid of? Himself?_

  
_Or maybe it wasn't fear_. The two may only have been 9-year-olds but Sasuke was quick enough to catch how they may have looked from the outside. It was sad. Naruto looked pitiful. Thrift-store clothing caked in dirt. Laceless sneakers blown like two popped tires strung to a pair of muddy feet. He made Sasuke look like the rich bully and _he_ didn't have _that_ much. As annoying as the kid was he certainly wasn't spoiled. _Come to think of it..._ Naruto never had anyone come take him home for holidays. Did that mean he was an orphan? It would explain a ton—especially why he wouldn't come to the same understanding. The more Sasuke thought about it the more he remembered hearing something from one of the adults. Before he knew it, guilt had replaced in him the rage. Only then did he see what looked like a tear.

“Hey… are you—?”

Sasuke was cut off by a tackle— 

“I’ve got one of 'em! The Uchiha kid!” 

  
He didn’t bother putting up a fight, limp as a rag-doll as his arms were twisted into a restraint. This was technically on him. Sasuke knew _he_ was expected to be the mature one. You'd be surprised that a ninja academy doesn’t allow brawls after class. But Sasuke was more often careful, always finishing but never starting conflict. 'Self-defense' was out the window and lying was below him. As soon as he could he’d admit fault and apologize. _Fight or none_ , it was the mature thing to do.

  
He craned his neck looking for any sign of the bird. Sasuke prepared himself for the unholy viscera that could be. There was no way their senseis were aware. What's a bird to two human children anyway.

  
What he saw gave him whiplash.

  
_That crazy son-of-a bitch._ Naruto had up and managed to grab the nest, cradling it to his chest like a football. _How did he manage in all that chaos?_ Who knows. All Sasuke could do was pray it wouldn't end with a touch-down. 

  
“Slow down Naruto! Do you want the damn thing to die?!” Mizuki sensei pleaded, he was chasing close behind—careful not to cause the kid to drop his ‘ _precious cargo_.’ 

  
“I won’t leddit!” it was hard to make out what he was saying through all the snot and tears dripping down his face, “I wanna helb ‘im!”

  
“You don’t understand! Just leave it alone! _It’s too late!_ ”

  
“NO!” Naruto shrieked before pushing himself even faster.

  
Sasuke grew tired of it. He turned to the one restraining him.

  
“Sensei, if I may?” he was back to his usual coolness, “Maybe we can take the bird back with us….” 

  
“What a good idea—Mizuki hold on! We’re not getting anywhere like this.”

  
The cat and mouse game skid to a halt, Naruto carefully keeping his distance.

  
“ _Eh!?_ You can’t tell me we’re letting him keep it.” 

  
“Why not sensei?!?” Naruto whined, “I promise I’ll give him lots of foods and atten’shen… even though miss mama bird _abad’donend_ him. I promise!”

  
“Why don’t we keep him as a class pet?” Sasuke had been released at some point and was dusting the grass off his clothes as he spoke, “And when the day is over I’ll bring him back with me.”

  
They obviously didn’t trust Naruto. Sasuke didn’t either. This was a lesson in compromise.

  
“I started the fight. It would only be fair I took responsibility. Maybe after Naruto learns more about taking care of animals _he_ can hold on to it.”

  
Their senseis exchanged looks. It seemed Sasuke’s hunch had been correct.

  
“Alright then… Naruto is that okay?”

  
Naruto’s brows furrowed and his face scrunched. He was a pretty ugly kid when he wanted to be.

  
“‘Dunno… promise me you'll keep him safe?”

  
“I _promise,_ ” anything to put an end to the back and forth.

  
“A’hight then…” the blonde approached him, sliding the nest into his arms. Neither felt like making eye contact. 

  
“All this over a baby bird?” Mizuki asked with a tired smirk.

  
“We were kids once too, ‘member? It’s over. Let’s just head them back to their dorms and get them ready for dinner.”

  
“Dinner?” Naruto was quick to bounce back and for that Sasuke was thankful.

  
He stared wide-eyed at the baby bird they’d rescued. Sure—he knew a bit about birds from class but he had over played his confidence. He didn't even know what kind of bird it was, let alone how to nurse it back to health. All the reading he'd have to do. At least the chick was starting to open its eyes. It gave Sasuke a bit of hope, like something good could come.

  
“It seems he likes you...” Mizuki chimed, hardly heard under Naruto’s cheering. 

  
“Maybe Naruto woke it up…” Sasuke suggested. He had been delicate in tone, as not to show disrespect, though he found himself frowning. Something didn’t feel right but he couldn’t place it. 

  
“Who it ‘likes’ won’t matter, I made my promise.”

  
“So it seems…” Mizuki hummed.

  
Sasuke couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable the rest of the way back.


End file.
